How Not To Let All Those Blank Stares Derail Your Talk

UNFORTUNATELY, YOUR AUDIENCE WON’T ALWAYS BE SMILING AND UPBEAT WHEN YOU’RE SPEAKING IN PUBLIC. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN PREVENT THEIR POKER FACES FROM RATTLING YOUR NERVES.
BY ANETT GRANT

Other people’s facial expressions affect you physically, not just emotionally. According to one recent study, seeing someone smiling can lower the body’s cortisol and stress levels. As a speaker, though, you may not always get those benefits when you need them most to calm your nerves. Many of your meetings and presentations will kick off with a sea of blank stares facing back at you, and it’s your job to avoid showing how intimidated you are and keep sounding interesting. These four tips can help you do exactly that.

1. Recognize That It’s (Probably) Not About You

First of all, don’t take blank stares personally. Sure, occasionally, it’s because the audience isn’t quite getting your presentation, but in most instances it’s probably got nothing to do with the substance of your talk. These days, we’re all constantly looking at screens–smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs. And how are we looking at them? With blank stares. Chances are, if you were the audience, you’d also be looking at the speaker with a blank stare, even if they were saying something really compelling. Consider it “resting listener face”–and try to brush it off.

2. Consider The Context

Still, some blank stares are intentional. This tactic is common among senior executives who often simply don’t want people to know what they’re thinking. That’s because they’re often under close scrutiny and believe there’s nothing to gain from wearing their emotions–however subtle–on their sleeves. A high-profile CEO once told me that he showed a brief moment of frustration with a business unit during a meeting. Three hours later, he got a phone call from an analyst who said he’d heard the CEO was going to divest from that business unit. Sometimes it pays to be non-reactive.

Other times your listeners’ blank expressions just mean that they’re synthesizing information, comparing what you’re saying with all the other stuff they know on the subject. There’s a lot information your listeners need to mentally piece together as they absorb your talk, so to help them, make sure you’re explaining how your point fits into the broader context.

3. Keep Doing What’s Working

It sometimes takes real effort to resist the impulse to change your behavior in the hope of getting a reaction. Don’t get louder. Don’t try to make a joke. Don’t go off on an unplanned tangent.

If you’ve prepared well and started strong, trust your material. Blank faces don’t necessarily mean disengagement–they might just mean concentration. Changing course mid-stream because you’re not getting visible feedback can actually make things worse. You risk coming across as uncertain or desperate for approval.

Instead, maintain your energy and conviction. Deliver your key points as planned. If you’ve structured your talk well, the impact will register even if you can’t see it in real time.

4. Focus On The Few Who Are Responsive

In any audience, there are usually a few people who are naturally more expressive. They nod, they lean forward, they make eye contact. These are your allies. Rather than fixating on the stone faces in the back row, direct your energy toward the people who are giving you positive feedback.

This doesn’t mean ignoring the rest of the room, but psychologically, it helps to have some friendly faces to anchor to. It calms your nerves, maintains your confidence, and often, the energy you project to these responsive listeners will eventually spread to others in the audience.

Remember, you can’t control how your audience chooses to express their engagement, but you can control how you respond to their expressions–or lack thereof. Don’t let a few blank stares derail what might otherwise be a successful presentation.